People want the Pirates to win. If the Pirates win 20 in a row this September, zooming past the top of the division, even Cardinals and Brewers fans will find it hard to be too ticked off. It's time. And when the Pirates were floating around the top of the division around the All-Star break, it was more than a little exciting, even if you had some inclination that it just might be somewhat of a mirage.
The Large-Market Pittsburgh Pirates Keep Spending
When I was a blossoming baseball nerd years and years ago, this wasn’t the case. The Pirates’ struggles were just a few seasons old in the late ‘90s, and the team was the subject of scorn on the World Wide Web. The Pirates set aside huge chunks of the budget for players like Pat Meares, Kevin Young, and Derek Bell. In a 45-team league with 67-man rosters, this might have been a prudent idea. Alas, under the configurations of MLB at the time, this strategy was less than effective.
The Pirates could have spent that money on more practical things, like warm sweaters or first-aid kits. The refrain at the time was that the Pirates should have spent that money on player development. Scour the world for top international free agents. Draft high-school kids who drop in the draft because of strong college commitments, and pay them a lot of money to skip not just some of their college classes, but all of them. The $15 million paid to Meares could have gone a long ways toward securing young prospects.
The Pirates kept on doing it wrong, too. Matt Lawton, Mark Redman, Sean Casey, and Matt Morris shuffled on through, and the Pirates were adept at acquiring players to whom they had no business writing million-dollar checks. And when it came to the draft or international free agency, sometimes talent took a back seat to budget. The classic example is Daniel Moskos in 2007, who most people projected as a left-handed reliever, and who was selected over Matt Wieters. The Pirates were spending a little money, but it was being funneled to weird places.
Neal Huntington took over as GM after the 2007 draft, and he grabbed someone important by the lapels and explained the value of good prospects -- that those extra millions the best young kids get doesn't just get wasted on video games and moon pies. The Pirates didn't shy away from the high price tags of Pedro Alvarez or Jameson Taillon. They drafted high-school players early, and paid them enough to bring them into the organization.
And with the 2011 draft, they’ve outdone themselves:
Once again delivering on a promise to spend liberally on the Draft, the Pirates paid out more than $17 million in signing bonuses on 24 players. Such an amount is unprecedented in Major League history, but it was also very much necessary in order for the Pirates to sign No. 1 overall pick Gerrit Cole and second-rounder Josh Bell.
Over the past three drafts, the Pirates have spent more than $31 million in bonuses. They’re doing what they should have been doing for years, what fans wanted them to do. And now?
Everyone gets to wait around for a few years.
It might not work out. That’s the worst part. Finally, the Pirates are committing the bulk of their resources to player development, and it might not work out because young players are horrible, volatile things that can stomp on your heart.
But it’s about the only sensible strategy the Pirates can take. They’re building the best farm system they can, and from that they’re hoping for a foundation that can finally give the city and the beautiful park the team it deserves.
If the spend-on-the-draft thing doesn’t work out, everyone who advocated for it will pretend that it wasn’t their idea. We’ll slowly back away from the carnage, blaming someone else. But just about everyone’s rooting for the Pirates at this point, and it’s nice to see that there’s a glimmer of hope. Here’s hoping that it works as it should.
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